Kelsey's Page

STEP 1: TOPIC SELECTION

1. What is your topic? Give a brief overview.

My topic is on the Holocaust, which is an event that occurred during WWII. Hitler, Germany’s dictator had put all his belief into the superiority of the Aryan race and considered the Jews to be unworthy. Hitler made it his goal to completely get rid of the Jewish people as well as the gypsies and Slavs; he wanted to eventually eliminate them from the world. The holocaust was a mass genocide, putting millions of people in concentration camps as well as eventually over 6 million “undesirables”, as they were called, lost their lives because of their race.

2. Give two reasons why you selected this topic.

I selected this topic because I am interested to know why no other countries or nations stepped in to help stop the holocaust, or how they didn’t clue in that it was happening. As well I chose the holocaust topic because it is a sad event that occurred in our world history and I want to find more details about how it happened and the effect it left on Germany and to the German people.

3. To what specific course(s) does your topic relate? Explain.

This topic relates to History 12 as well, it comes up in Socials 11

4. Determine whether the primary focus of the issue is cultural, resource, economic, environmental or political. Explain your decision.

The topic of the holocaust would be considered to be a cultural primary focus as it occurred in Germany and the Germans had been convinced into thinking the Aryan race was superior and the Jewish people were not. It had been a cultural phenomenon to dislike the Jewish, Gypsies and Slavs.

5. Recreate the following chart on a separate piece of paper. Using the following “K-W-L Organizer”, recall what you already know about your topic, organize any new ideas, ask questions and record your learning.

K: What I Know about the Topic

W: What I want to Know about the Topic

L: What I have Learned about the Topic from Preliminary Reading / Courses Studied

- Jews, Gypsies, Slavs were the main targets

- Concentration camps were set up, as well as Gas chambers were built

- The holocaust demonstrated a great deal of racism

- People were separated from their families and could be sent to different camps

- Innocent people lost their life depending only on their race and color of skin.
-Why no other countries stepped in to help until after Germany was defeated

-How was the citizens of Germany affected by the holocaust

- How many countries stepped into eventually help stop the holocaust

- Why no one stepped into help when they first heard about it
-Hitler’s holocaust killed over 6 million people

-Jews, Gypsies and Slavs were called the undesirables

- The prisoners life often depended on the Nazi’s decisions

- No one stepped into help with the holocaust until after Germany’s defeat

- At first the killings were shooting murders and burials but then Hitler wanted a faster way and decided on the Gas chambers which could fit many, many people in at a time.

6. Based on your prior knowledge and studies, what are three important themes or issues pertinent to this topic? Outline and explain.

Three important issues of the holocaust are that for one Hitler wanted to eliminate an entire race of people due to them not fitting the expectations of the Aryan race that was considered to be superior. Second, Anti-Semitism was an issue because it encouraged people to hate against the Jewish people just because Hitler and the Nazi’s didn’t like them. The last important issue was the way Hitler chose to get rid of the Jews. He wanted them to be instantly gone, so the gas chambers were invented allowing for quick extermination of the race.

7. Create TWO controversial questions about the topic that your thesis paper may answer.

Why did no other countries get involved until after Germany and Hitler were over thrown and defeated?

How did the Holocaust effect the German citizens and were the aware of what was exactly happening?


8. Using the "Evaluating Internet Resources Criteria" found at the following website: http://www.library.ubc.ca/home/evaluating/Easyprint.html find 3 resources on your topic on the web that fit the criteria of a valid Internet resource.

1) http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143
2) http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/holo.html
3) http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/




Step 3 : Developing a Hypothesis & Research Questions

TOPIC: The Holocaust and its affects on citizens and other countries


OVERVIEW OF TOPIC:

The Holocaust was a major event in World War II and affected thousands of people of different races, ethnics and gender. Thousands of Jewish people lost their lives while German citizens had to deal with the wrath and after shocks that came with after the Holocaust.

CONTROVERSIAL QUESTION(S) REGARDING TOPIC:

Why did no other countries get involved until after Germany and Hitler were over thrown and defeated?

How did the Holocaust effect the German citizens and were they aware of what was exactly happening?


HYPOTHESIS:

Most German citizens were unaware of the holocaust and what was occurring, which made it impossible for the allies to know themselves.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

Factual Questions

Why did no other countries step in to stop the holocaust?
Who was the first to help shut down the holocaust?

Clarification Questions

Did any German citizens try to attempt to stop the holocaust?
How did the German citizens find out about the holocaust?

Interpretive Questions
Why did Hitler have to be defeated before the Holocaust could be stopped?
Was it believed that Hitler was too powerful that no one wanted to put a stop to his attempt to wipe out the Jewish Race?
Inquiry Questions
What were the major affects that were put on the German citizens after the holocaust?
Was there any major after affects on Germany as a country after the holocaust was over?